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Syracuse coach Scott Shafer says juniors asked to be part of Senior Day ceremony

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Syracuse junior wide receiver Jarrod West (88) will be honored during Saturday's Senior Day ceremony before the Boston College game. West asked to be part of the ceremony, coach Scott Shafer said.
(Dick Blume | dblume@syracuse.com)

"They came to me and they said, 'Coach, can we walk with the guys we came in with?'" Shafer said Tuesday afternoon. "Specifically Jarrod came in and asked. I said, 'Heck ya. You might have to do it twice if you want to.' To me, five minutes standing next to your buddies saying here we are, last one for all you guys, maybe not me. So that's kind of the way we look at it."

Smith and Hickey are considered to be two of SU's best draft prospects, though neither has announced a decision on whether he will return in 2014.

Shafer said he met with several players who are eligible for the NFL Draft during the preseason and again over the bye week. He said he will meet with them again after the season and "have that talk again."

"I try to give them good advice because there's a lot of people out there that always try to meddle," Shafer said. "So I said, 'OK, let's finish this season right, control, focus just what we're doing now, then we'll talk about it once the season is over.'"

Smith, the team's leading rusher, submitted his name to the NFL Draft Advisory Board after last season and was projected as a fourth- or fifth-round pick.

And the left tackle Hickey is currently projected as a third-round pick, according to CBS Sports. He left last week's game against Pittsburgh early because of a lower-body injury.

Shafer did not provide an injury update on Hickey or any other injured player when asked Tuesday.

Follow Nate Mink on Twitter @MinkNate or email him at nmink@syracuse.com.